If you’re an emerging company with the next great product, sometimes you need an angel on your side.
A study by the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Venture Research showed that “angel investors” – high-net-worth individuals willing to invest in entrepreneurial companies at an early stage – shelled out more than $18 billion into early-stage companies last year alone, compared to $304 million by venture capitalists.
Finding an angel investor, however, is not an easy task. Safer Smokes Inc. is one company that understands the challenge of attracting the right investors.
This development-stage company is tapping the smoking cessation market with a unique tobacco-free, nicotine-free smoke called Bravo, which has the appearance of a traditional cigarette and burns like tobacco, but is actually made from lettuce fibers.
“Bravo lets you smoke your way out of the tobacco habit gradually,” said Puzant C. Torigian, chief executive officer of Safer Smokes.
For companies like Safer Smokes, it may be too soon to approach large venture capital firms, yet time to move beyond networking with family and...